United States President, Donald Trump, on Monday, sacked more than a dozen Justice Department lawyers who brought two criminal cases against him.
The officials were sacked after the Acting Attorney General, James McHenry, a Trump appointee, concluded that they could not be trusted to faithfully implement the President’s agenda because of their significant role in prosecuting the President.
According to the termination letter, McHenry cited Trump’s power as chief executive under the U.S. Constitution to justify the firings.
It was gathered that the lawyers worked with Special Counsel, Jack Smith, who led the two federal prosecutions of Trump that the department dropped after his November election.
Smith, however, resigned from the department earlier this month.
The sacking came the same day that Ed Martin, the top federal prosecutor in Washington and a Trump appointee, opened an internal review into the use of a felony obstruction charge in prosecutions of people accused of taking part in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The U.S. Supreme Court raised the legal bar for that offense in a 6-3 ruling last year, prompting prosecutors to drop the charge in several cases.
The moves reflect a willingness by the Trump administration to follow through on threats to seek retribution against prosecutors who pursued Trump and his supporters during his four years out of office.
Trump and his allies view the Justice Department with deep suspicion after prosecutors accused the president of national security- and election-related crimes.
The move came after the Trump administration already assigned up to 20 senior career Justice Department officials, including Bradley Weinsheimer, the top ethics official, and the former chief of the public corruption section, Corey Amundson, from their roles.
Amundson, whose section provided advice to Smith’s prosecutors, announced his resignation on Monday.
The moves to shake up the Justice Department’s workforce have happened before the U.S. Senate votes on Trump’s attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi.
Bondi’s nomination is set to be voted on by a Senate panel on Wednesday.
CN reports that Smith, who was appointed by former Attorney General, Merrick Garland, brought cases accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified documents at his Florida social club and attempting to interfere with the certification of the 2020 election.
However, Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges, arguing that the cases reflected a weaponization of the legal system.
Smith dropped both cases after Trump’s election, citing a longtime-policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
